مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 703 (هفته سوم اسفند 1401)

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia and is associated with poor outcomes, including stroke. The ability of anticoagulation therapy to reduce the risk of stroke has been well established; however, the frequency of anticoagulation therapy uses is unknown in our community. This study aims to evaluate the frequency of anticoagulation therapy and its different types among patients with atrial fibrillation.

In this cross-sectional study between April 2015 to April 2016 (before the Covid-19 pandemic), a number of 200 patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, in two groups of 100 patients with and without recent embolic events were studied who were hospitalized in Al-Zahra hospital in Isfahan. The CHA2DS2-VASc score and the amount and type of anticoagulant usage were evaluated in each group.

In included 200 patients (mean age 70 years, 55% women), hypertension and diabetes were the most prevalent diseases. There was no significant difference in the mean of the CHA2DS2-VASc score between the two groups; 3.8 vs 3.6. (P > 0.05). There was a history of anticoagulant use in 48% of the patients hospitalized without embolic events and a mean CHA2DS2-VASc score: of 3.6.

About half of the hospitalized patients without embolic events and one-third of the patients with embolic events took anticoagulants for thromboembolic prevention, mostly warfarin. In patients with atrial fibrillation, despite the need to receive anticoagulants to prevent stroke, including people with a high CHA2DS2-VASc score, the consumption of direct thrombin inhibitors was seen at a very low level.

Melanoma is one of the deadliest skin cancers because the effectiveness of common treatments is not impressive. Cold atmospheric plasma is considered a new solution in cancer treatment. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the synergistic effect of cold plasma in the presence of gold nanoparticles on melanoma cell lines.

In this study, helium based cold plasma in the presence of gold nanoparticles were used to treat melanoma cells. In this respect, after the synthesis of gold nanoparticles, their physicochemical properties were investigated. Then incubation time of gold nanoparticles was determined and the optimal concentration was determined after 24 hours of incubation using MTT test. Finally, cells were exposed to cold plasma radiation with and without gold nanoparticles at different times of 30, 60 and 90 s. The survival percentage of cells was evaluated 48 hours after cold plasma treatment.

Cold plasma treatment produces time-dependent toxic effects. The viability of cells treated with cold plasma in the presence of gold nanoparticles was significantly reduced compared to untreated cells. The greatest reduction in viability was observed in the 90 s cold plasma and 20 mg/mL concentration gold nanoparticle treatment groups.

This study approved anti-cancer effect of cold plasma on melanoma cells. In addition, it also showed that gold nanoparticles create a synergistic effect in plasma treatment.

Today, biocides have become an integral part of the industrialized world and are invaluable compounds in the control of human and animal pathogens. Benzalkonium chloride (BCC), a biocidal agent, is widely used in hospitals and healthcare facilities, as well as household settings, farms, and food industries. BCC is a quaternary ammonium compound that can denature cytoplasmic membrane proteins. This paper aims to review evaluated studies on the minimum inhibitory concentration of benzalkonium chloride on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria isolated in healthcare centers in Iran.

The data of this systematic review study was collected from national and international databases, including Web of Science, Science Direct, EMBASE, Scopus, PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, SID, and Magiran, using appropriate Persian and English keywords without time limitation for searching. After filtration based on the Inclusion and exclusion criteria, 15 articles were entered into our study.

Overall, 15 studies were identified. 7 studies were included in Gram-positive bacteria and the other 8 were included in Gram-negative bacteria. Most studies were related to Staphylococcus aureus (5) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3). Also, the highest and the lowest reported inhibitory concentration was 1024 µg/ml for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 0.25 µg/ml for Staphylococcus aureus.

Different results of the minimum inhibitory concentration of benzalkonium chloride have been reported in Iran, particularly for Gram-negative bacteria. As a result, it is suggested that more studies be conducted in all provinces based on the common biocide agents used on resistant bacteria causing hospital infections regularly.